In 2015, world passenger traffic, measured by international revenue
passenger kilometres, grew by approximately 7.4% and while capacity grew
by 6.7%. The growth was driven by airlines in the emerging markets
particularly Middle East and Latin America. Though Europe is still
experiencing economic weakness, RPK grew by 5% driven by strong demand
in Turkey.

It has been forecasted that over the next two decades, more than 39,600
planes will be needed globally. While close to 40% of this demand will
come from North America and Europe, 38% will come from the Asia region.
The remaining demand is expected to come from the Middle East, Latin
America, the CIS, and Africa.

Single-aisle planes will form a chunk of this demand followed by
widebody airplane. It has also been predicted that China will need 6810
new aircraft and about 248,000 new pilots over the next two decades. In
2016, a global initiative has been set into motion to cap carbon
emissions from international aviation. A global agreement was put into
place at Montreal to limit the effect of commercial flights on the
climate.